Page 24 of Knox (Comeback Duet #2)

Knox

When my teammates and I finally made it to our hotel in Los Angeles, all I wanted was a shower, some room service, and a video call with my boyfriend.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t head straight to my room.

As usual, we had to collect our suitcases from under the bus, wait for the travel coordinator to hand out keys, and squeeze the entire team and staff into a limited number of elevators.

By the time I stepped into my room, I was exhausted, sweaty, and pretty much over the day. I rolled my suitcase to the foot of the bed and collapsed onto the mattress with a sigh. It had only been a few hours since I’d said goodbye to Crew, but things already felt off.

It wasn’t just that I missed him. I’d gotten used to having him with me all of the time. We’d wake up together, share meals, and brush shoulders as we got ready in small hotel bathrooms. Now it was just me, silence, and a bed that felt way too big.

I scooted up until I was reclining on the pillows and pulled out my phone. Hitting the video call icon next to Crew’s name, it rang once, then twice before it connected.

Grady’s face filled the screen. “Hi, Knox!”

“Hey, G. How’s it going?”

“We just had ice cream. Did you get me chocolate yet?”

My brows furrowed. “What?”

“Dad said you were going to buy me chocolate on your trip.”

I let out a little chuckle. “I did say that, but it’s got to wait until I get to San Francisco.”

He nodded. “Okay, but don’t forget, I like the kind with caramel inside.”

“Got it.”

He started to say something else, but Crew’s voice came from somewhere outside of what I could see on the video. “Hey, let me talk to Knox for a second, buddy.”

Grady handed over the phone without argument, and a second later, Crew came into view. “Hi there.” He smiled. “Sorry about that. We had a movie and ice cream night, and I was cleaning up the mess.”

“No worries. It gave him a chance to tell me exactly what kind of candy he wants.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know when our kid became so picky.”

The sentence was said so easily, but my brain was stuck on him saying ‘ our kid’ . The only problem was I wasn’t sure if he meant him and me or him and Mallory.

“He just knows what he likes,” I replied as though he hadn’t said anything out of the ordinary.

“We watched that cartoon cowboy movie he’s obsessed with again,” Crew said, dropping onto the couch. “I think I have every line memorized.”

“Yeah. At least he moved on from the one about dinosaurs that almost made me cry.”

“Almost?” He smirked.

“My allergies were bothering me, okay?” I rolled my eyes but was grinning.

“If that’s what you have to tell yourself.” We both laughed.

“Dad, I picked out the book I want you to read,” Grady shouted, probably from his bedroom where the bookcase was.

Crew let out a breath. “I should probably get him in the bath and then ready for bed.” He lowered his voice. “I promised him one story, but you know he’ll probably talk me into at least three.”

“You’re such a sucker.”

He shrugged. “Probably, but I’ve got a lot of nights of missed stories to make up for.”

“You know, you’re the only one still holding onto that, right? Grady and Mallory are just happy to have you in his life now.”

Even though it had been eight months since Crew had found out he was a father, I knew he still felt guilty at times for not being there for his son.

I didn’t quite understand why he felt that way since he hadn’t even known about Grady, but I’d never been in that situation before, so I tried not to question him too much.

“Yeah, I know. It just hits me sometimes.”

“I picked out another one,” Grady called out once more.

Crew ran a hand over his face. “I better get in there before he pulls out every book he owns. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

The call ended, and I set my phone down on the nightstand. The room was quiet again, and the bed still felt too damn big.

The bar was packed, and we were ready to start our post-game celebration. We’d taken game one from the Dodgers, and while we still had two more games to play against them, it felt good to take the lead early.

Our group managed to snag a table in the back where Pearson and Ramos were keeping us entertained with their ridiculous back-and-forth banter.

“I’m just saying”—Ramos took a sip of his beer and swallowed—“if she’s wearing a jersey and knows the difference between a fastball and curveball, that’s a two-point boost.”

Pearson smirked. “You running a scouting report on your hook ups?”

Ramos grinned. “It’s called having standards, Rookie. A personality counts for a lot, but if she’s repping the Seawolves, I’m at least buying her a drink.”

“You’re doing more than buying her a drink.” Jacobs laughed.

Ramos lifted a shoulder. “That’s accurate.” He turned to Pearson. “Stick with me tonight, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”

I snorted into my glass. “Trust me, he doesn’t need any pointers.”

Everyone looked my way.

“You’ve been holding out on gossip about the rookie?” Turner asked, eyes gleaming.

“All I’m saying is I saw the revolving door firsthand. If anything”—I pointed at Ramos—“you could probably learn a thing or two from him.”

Pearson leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head.

“Singleton doesn’t have much room to talk.

Before Stratton, he had his fair share of guys coming and going from our place, but he’s not lying about me schooling you.

” He jerked his chin toward a pair of women sitting at the bar, glancing in our direction.

“See her in the red? I guarantee we’ll be walking out of here together in the next five minutes. ”

A second later, Pearson and Ramos both stood and made their way over to the women, ready to turn on the charm.

I stayed for another round, which was long enough to watch them both leave with a woman on their arm. When Jacobs offered to buy another drink, I shook my head.

“I’m calling it a night. Need my beauty sleep.”

“Beauty sleep or a hot phone call with your man?” Turner grinned.

“Probably both.” I waggled my eyebrows, causing my teammates to shake their heads playfully. “See ya in the morning.”

The walk back to the hotel didn’t take long, and when I stepped into my room, I kicked off my shoes and stripped down to my boxers.

Since I’d showered before leaving the stadium, I skipped that and climbed into bed. It was almost midnight, so I hoped Crew and I would have a little privacy, and we could turn up the heat a little.

I dialed his number, and the video call connected after a few rings.

“Hey,” he greeted, but he looked tired with messy hair and dark circles under his eyes.

“You okay?”

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave me a tight smile. “It’s been a rough night.”

I sat up straighter. “What happened?”

“Grady tried to call Mallory before bed, but she didn’t answer, and he sort of spiraled a little.”

My heart sank a little. “Poor kid.”

“I tried to explain that sometimes people miss calls, but then he didn’t want to go to sleep. He kept asking if she got hurt again.”

“Shit,” I muttered. “Did she call him back?”

He nodded. “About ten minutes later. She apologized and explained she was talking to his grandma, but …” He took a deep breath. “It was already in his head, so it took forever to get him to stay in bed. He’s already woken up crying twice since then.”

“That sucks. Sounds like you both need some rest.”

“Yeah, but I wanted to stay awake for your call.”

I smiled. “You didn’t have to do that. I would have understood.”

Before he could respond, I heard a small, sad voice. “Dad?”

Crew sat up. “What’s going on, bubby?”

“I had a bad dream,” Grady cried.

Crew looked back at the camera. “I’ve got to go.”

“I know. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Love you,” he said, already standing.

“Love you too.”

I pressed the End Call button and stared at the blank screen for a moment. I wasn’t mad or even disappointed. I just wanted something I couldn’t have tonight.

But there was always tomorrow.